ByAssociated PressSeptember 7, 2010

Betty Byrd Boatner (C), sister of James Byrd, Jr., and Judy Shepard (L), mother of Matthew Shepard, stand with US President Barack Obama in honor of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. In 1998, Shepard was murdered because he was gay.

HELENA, Mont. — The Big Sky Tea Party Association's board of directors has removed the organization's president for an exchange on his Facebook page that appeared to condone violence against homosexuals.

The conversation between Ravndal and another man appears to reference the 1998 death of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was beaten and tied to a fence post. Police said Shepard was attacked because he was gay.